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Thursday, March 1, 2018

Turkmenistan Acquires New Turkish Armored Vehicles

Turkmenistan has acquired two new types of armored vehicles from Turkey.

The dissident 'Chronicles of Turkmenistan' uploaded a video on February 26, 2018, of a recent visit by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to a new border post near Serhetabat, which is close to the border with Afghanistan.

The video revealed Turkmenistan's procurement of the Amazon 4x4 and Vuran 4x4 armored vehicles, produced by Turkish firm BMC.

Turkmenistan has previously been known to be interested in acquiring the Amazon, but no order had been confirmed until now.

It is not clear how many of each of these vehicles Turkmenistan ordered but, if the quantities were similar to purchases of Turkish Kirpi and Ural vehicles, the country likely purchased several dozen Amazons and Vurans.

Ashgabat rarely releases any details on its military. In recent years, the country has unveiled a number of new armored vehicles, procured from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, in particular. These will boost the Turkmen security forces' response capabilities.

The acquisitions stem from Turkmenistan's concern over the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents, as well as an Islamic State cell, are challenging the Afghan government.